From the time I could remember I have always wanted to be a teacher. I had a walk-in closet that I transformed into a classroom where my siblings and friends and I would play school. I was destined to be a teacher, no other profession ever crossed my mind. So, when I enrolled at Hamline University I immediately began to take education classes. I was content with my decision until I was in my freshmen FYSEM (first year seminar class) where we watched a video about service and fighting for justice. I have no memory of what the video was called or why we were watching it, but that very day I enrolled in Introduction to Social Justice for the following semester. I don’t remember the specifics of the video but I know it made me feel like I had the power to do more with my life and more with my teaching career. I wanted to become a teacher so I could advocate for the children who didn’t have someone in their corner. By majoring in Social justice I felt like I could become that advocate for my students and also be able to transform my lessons and classrooms into communities where difference is taught, respected, and learned from.
Last semester I interned at People Serving People, a homeless shelter in downtown Minneapolis. Throughout the semester I worked with the three and four year olds who were residents at the shelter. Throughout my time at People Serving People I learned about childhood trauma, emotional behavioral disorders, childhood development, abuse, and parent communication. This experience helped prepare me for the different students I will encounter in my classroom and gave me experience to help navigate different approaches to teaching and advocating for children living in poverty. This internship solidified my desires to work for justice and to challenge others to confront the stigmas that surround homelessness and advocate for the children experiencing it.
As I moved deeper into my Social Justice major I started to deliberate on what I wanted my concentration to be. Throughout my education courses we learn a lot about multicultural education and culturally relevant pedagogy, which both highlight the understanding that all children come from diverse backgrounds, different belief systems, and cultures. I believe that teachers must create differentiated lesson plans and ensure that curriculums are structured so that all students can relate to the content. This way of teaching pushes back on the Eurocentric ways of thinking and teaching. When imagining the different students I will meet in my classroom, I thought a lot about intersectionality and the different spaces within their lives that influence their abilities to learn and identify with the content I teach. Throughout my time at Hamline I have taken classes that focus on, race, gender, psychology, trauma, and culture, and have incorporated what I have learned into my social justice concentration. From my sociology of gender class for example, I have learned about the importance of creating a classroom environment where it is made clear that more than two genders can exist. For example, my students will not be forced to choose to stand in a girl line or boy line as they walk through the halls. Also, I will be conscious of the terms I use to welcome or get my class’ attention. For example, “good morning boys and girls” creates a gender binary within my classroom that I don’t want to exist. This social justice concentration on intersectionality and difference has a direct influence on my teaching and has helped me begin to form a teaching philosophy that I will be able to articulate to future employers, co-workers, and my students’ parents.
As I step into my first classroom on my very first day I hope to remember the importance of being there for my students in a variety of ways. I want to be an approachable and trusting role model in every one of my students’ lives, and I want to be able to have the platform and the experiences to advocate for each one of their needs and desires. My social justice education has prepared me for thinking about the world with a broader lens and has helped me solidify a deep understanding about difference and the complexities that surround teaching and learning about diversity. Through my education I have learned that my own story and my histories are not the same as the students’ I will meet. This understanding has helped me recognize that I must learn from my students’ differences to become a better, more aware teacher.
I am so excited to begin my teaching career knowing that I still have a lot to learn about myself and the different people that I will encounter throughout my life. I am so grateful for the opportunities that Hamline has given me to be able to go out into the world and the classroom, and create some change. I can’t wait to start!
Last semester I interned at People Serving People, a homeless shelter in downtown Minneapolis. Throughout the semester I worked with the three and four year olds who were residents at the shelter. Throughout my time at People Serving People I learned about childhood trauma, emotional behavioral disorders, childhood development, abuse, and parent communication. This experience helped prepare me for the different students I will encounter in my classroom and gave me experience to help navigate different approaches to teaching and advocating for children living in poverty. This internship solidified my desires to work for justice and to challenge others to confront the stigmas that surround homelessness and advocate for the children experiencing it.
As I moved deeper into my Social Justice major I started to deliberate on what I wanted my concentration to be. Throughout my education courses we learn a lot about multicultural education and culturally relevant pedagogy, which both highlight the understanding that all children come from diverse backgrounds, different belief systems, and cultures. I believe that teachers must create differentiated lesson plans and ensure that curriculums are structured so that all students can relate to the content. This way of teaching pushes back on the Eurocentric ways of thinking and teaching. When imagining the different students I will meet in my classroom, I thought a lot about intersectionality and the different spaces within their lives that influence their abilities to learn and identify with the content I teach. Throughout my time at Hamline I have taken classes that focus on, race, gender, psychology, trauma, and culture, and have incorporated what I have learned into my social justice concentration. From my sociology of gender class for example, I have learned about the importance of creating a classroom environment where it is made clear that more than two genders can exist. For example, my students will not be forced to choose to stand in a girl line or boy line as they walk through the halls. Also, I will be conscious of the terms I use to welcome or get my class’ attention. For example, “good morning boys and girls” creates a gender binary within my classroom that I don’t want to exist. This social justice concentration on intersectionality and difference has a direct influence on my teaching and has helped me begin to form a teaching philosophy that I will be able to articulate to future employers, co-workers, and my students’ parents.
As I step into my first classroom on my very first day I hope to remember the importance of being there for my students in a variety of ways. I want to be an approachable and trusting role model in every one of my students’ lives, and I want to be able to have the platform and the experiences to advocate for each one of their needs and desires. My social justice education has prepared me for thinking about the world with a broader lens and has helped me solidify a deep understanding about difference and the complexities that surround teaching and learning about diversity. Through my education I have learned that my own story and my histories are not the same as the students’ I will meet. This understanding has helped me recognize that I must learn from my students’ differences to become a better, more aware teacher.
I am so excited to begin my teaching career knowing that I still have a lot to learn about myself and the different people that I will encounter throughout my life. I am so grateful for the opportunities that Hamline has given me to be able to go out into the world and the classroom, and create some change. I can’t wait to start!